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Posts in: 'Pork'

Pork with prunes in mustard sauce and cheesy mash

Posted: 09 November '09 by Niall

Pork with prunes in mustard sauce

While I was flicking through the channels on television a couple of weeks ago, I saw that one of the contestants on MasterChef had made Pork with prunes in a creamy mustard sauce and thought that it looked pretty tasty, and a change from our usual Italian cuisine.

We were also lucky enough to receive a “roasting plank” to review, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Pork chops slow-roasted on a oak plank – tender and smoked – what could be better!

The dish is extremely easy to make and extremely tasty. The rich, figgy prunes are a nice contrast to the more delicate flavour of the pork and the creaminess of the mustard sauce. And when you add cheesy mash and French beans, you have a delicious dinner on your hands.. or your plank..

You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7Image 8Image 10

Ingredients:

• 4 pork chops
• Fresh thyme
• 1 bag of ready-to-eat prunes
• 150ml double cream
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Butter
• 200ml of dry white wine
• 2 tsp of Dijon mustard
• 1 lemon

For the cheesy mash:

• 5 large potatoes (I prefer Maris Pipers)
• 50g/2oz butter
• 125g/41/2oz mature cheddar cheese, grated

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees
2. Peel and chop your potatoes, adding them to a saucepan of water and bring to the boil
3. Cut off any skin along the side of the chops and remove all but a small amount of the fat
4. Rub the flesh with olive oil. Shred the leaves from 2 bushy sprigs of thyme and scatter over both sides of the pork, then season
5. Heat a large frying pan until it’s really hot. Add the pork chops, press down and cook for about 1 minute on each side, searing the outside
6. Take your plank and pat down the surface – then rub more olive oil into the cooking surface, massage some of your thyme leaves into the oil, and place the seared pork chops onto the cooking surface
7. Place the plank in the oven for a good hour
8. Test the potatoes with a fork – if the tines easily pass through the flesh, they’re done. Drain the potatoes and mash them
9. When the potatoes have been mashed, take a large spoon and beat them with the butter (LOTS of butter) until you have a rich, creamy texture
10. Stir in the grated cheese, and then place the potatoes into a casserole dish, covering the mash with buttered foil and place in the oven at a very low temperature
11. Add a big knob of butter to the frying pan, then throw in 2 handfuls of prunes and the leaves from 1 more sprig of thyme. Stir for 30 seconds, then add 200ml wine and 2 tsp mustard. Bubble for about 4 minutes until reduced and sticky
12. Stir in the cream and season well, allowing the sauce to bubble for 1-2 minutes to thicken
13. Add the pork, spoon over the sauce, and warm through for a few seconds

Tags: cooking, plank, recipe, recipes, roasting plank

Categories: Featured Post > French Food > Main Course > Pork > Recipes

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Pasta and meatballs in a creamy tomato sauce

Posted: 02 October '09 by Niall

Pasta with meatballs in a creamy tomato sauce

Another mid-week favourite of ours, and another pasta dish – but the spaghetti with pork meatballs is more of a winter-warmer compared to the pasta and prawns.

You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g dried spaghetti (i.e. one packet)
• 500g of pomodorino tomatoes
• 150ml of double cream
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 3 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium-hot red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• A good handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped (again, don’t use the dried stuff!)
• 1/2lb of butchers sausages
• Parmesan to grate over the dish (entirely optional)

Method

1. Using a pair off scissors (it’s far easier than a knife) split and remove the sausage casings, so you’re left with the sausage-meat ina bowl
2. Add a couple of pinches of ground black pepper
3. Using your hands, mix the pepper through the meat thoroughly
4. Take a small portion of the sausage-meat, enough to make a meatball that will be about the size of gobstopper – and roll the meat between your palms to make a meatball. Don’t worry if it’s messy and the meatballs are a bit “rough” looking – we’ll fix that in the next step
5. Wash your hands and rinse them again to keep them slightly damp – and re-roll all of the meatballs to make firmer, more rounded balls
6. Place the frying pan on a low heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil, frying the meatballs in batches of 6 or so until they are golden or slightly browned on both sides
7. As they finish cooking, place the browned meatballs in a separate bowl – and remove the frying pan from the heat
8. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the packet instructions, until al dente
9. Meanwhile, roughly chop the tomatoes into quarters
10. Heat the oil in a pan over a low heat
11. Add the garlic and red chillies and sweat gently until the garlic has become slightly translucent
12. Add the tomatoes and increase the heat slightly, cooking gently – with the seeds included, the contents of the pan will look a little water-y. We’re going to leave the pan over the heat until the tomatoes have fully broken down and the liquid has reduced to form a thick, concentrated tomato “jam”
13. Season to taste with salt and pepper
14. Lower the heat under the tomatoes completely, add the chopped basil and then the cream, mixing both through the sauce
15. Re-introduce the meatballs and make sure that they are well-coated in the sauce
16. Drain the spaghetti well, return to the saucepan, and add the tomato mixture
17. Toss together until the sauce is thoroughly mixed through the pasta, and serve

Wine Selection

A bit of a heartier, richer dish this time.. Something like a young Chianti will stand up to the cream and concentrated tomato flavours.

Other Information

• Use the best sausages you can get – none of the processed stuff though – anything made by your butcher is fine
• You could also substitute sage for the basil – but be careful how much you use – it’s a very strong herb, and needs to be used sparingly
• It’s important not to add too many meatballs into the pan when browning them – they hold a bit of fat, and too much liquid will make the meatballs stew rather than fry

Tags: cooking, pasta, recipe, recipes

Categories: Featured Post > Italian Food > Main Course > Pasta > Pork > Recipes > Uncategorized

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